Base support member for travel bag

ABSTRACT

A base support to support a bag can include a bottom, a back, and a pair of side portions each coupled to the back at curved joints. A plurality of reinforcement ribs can be configured along the bottom, back, and side portions to resist bending. The base support is formed from a single piece of material without corners and/or seams. The base support back portion, bottom portion, and side portions blend smoothly into one another and the base support is configured to accommodate at least a portion of the travel bag.

BACKGROUND

The frequent traveler is well aware of need for high quality travelbags. Transit systems tend to be quite taxing on baggage of low quality.Bags get stuck, tom, ripped or snagged on equipment such as doors,escalators, conveyors, carts, handrails, armrests, among others. Astravel bags tend to be heavy when loaded, they may be equipped withwheels to facilitate transport across smooth floors. Wheels aretypically mounted into the bottom of such bags. An additional featuremay include a handle. Handles are sometimes retractable into the bagsuch that the bag occupies a smaller space and allows for convenientstorage.

Some bags are designed for very heavy loads. Commonly known as “duffel”bags, a flexible material forms an enclosure into which objects may bepacked. For example, a bag designed to carry sporting equipment may bemade of strong canvas and reinforced at the seams with webbing oralternative durable materials. These bags may be particularly suited forcarrying large and bulky objects which cause increased wear on the bags.

Perhaps the most sophisticated experts with regard to travel bagsinclude airline personnel. Flight attendants and pilots often tote awheeled bag through airports and hotel lobbies. The bag is typicallymade of durable canvas or similar cloth material with a retractablehandle. The bag is pulled behind the user while the bottom is supportedon two wheels in contact with the floor. The wheels are preferably quitesmall and are sometimes built into the bag at wheel wells which areriveted to the canvas bottom. These bags are conveniently designed tofit the compartments of airplanes. They are durable in design, but tendto support a load of only a few tens of pounds. As such, the materialused to form the bags is generally only mildly resistant to highfriction loads. The corners of these bags are generally made of softmaterials, which tend to get caught on various objects including sharpmetallic objects such as those of which a conveyor might be comprised.The metallic objects tend to tear and destroy the bags. Additionally,the wheels are sometimes subject to very high impact force and mayeasily break away from the canvas bag to which they are attached. Thesetravel bags may be dragged up or down stairs.

Designers have included ribs made of plastic which run in a longitudinaldirection down the back of the bag. These ribs may help allow the bag tobe dragged over a bumpy surface such as stairs. However, the ribs areusually attached to the soft material of the bag by rivet or adhesives.Objects may operate to tear the ribs from the bag when they engage theends of the ribs.

Most travel luggage can be classified as either “soft” luggage or “hard”luggage. Soft luggage is lightweight and more easily made compact forstorage; while hard luggage tends to be more bulky. However, hardluggage is quite strong and may stand up to extreme conditions that actto wear or damage the luggage. Soft luggage is more easily destroyed byconditions to which it may be exposed in normal use. It would bedesirable to provide luggage that benefits from the advantages offeredby each of these types of luggage, without having the problemsassociated with either.

SUMMARY

In some embodiments, a base support to support a bag includes a bottom,a back, and a pair of side portions each coupled to the back at curvedjoints. A plurality of reinforcement ribs are configured along thebottom, back, and side portions to resist bending. The base support isformed from a single piece of material without corners and/or seams.

In other embodiments, a base support for a travel bag includes a backportion, a bottom portion, and side portions. The back, bottom, and sideportions of the base support blend smoothly into one another and thebase support is configured to accommodate at least a portion of thetravel bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of embodiments of thepresent invention will become better understood with regard to thefollowing description, appended claims and drawings where:

FIG. 1 illustrates a combination of a bag and a base member that form anembodiment of a travel bag;

FIG. 2 shows a front side view of a travel bag of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detailed drawing of a base element of the travel bag of FIG.1;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a base support thatincludes one or more pads positioned on bottom of the base support.

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the base support of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a base support thatincludes pads positioned on reinforcement ribs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Travel bags of the invention are particularly characterized by havingtwo primary members which are configured and arranged to cooperatetogether as a single unit. Accordingly, such travel bags are comprisedof a base member and a bag member. The base member is affixed to the bagmember at one end to protect the bag, provide support thereto, andprovide a support for wheels which aid transporting the travel bag. Thebase member is formed of a rigid durable material such as hard plastic,while the bag is formed of a flexible material such as Nylon™ Cordura™fabric. The base and bag members are shaped as complements such that thebag may be matingly received into a partially enclosed cavity formed bythe base. The bag may be firmly affixed to the base to form acombination.

A travel bag is therefore comprised of two primary elements: a base anda bag member. The bag member may have additional features which include,among others, webbing reinforcements, handles, accessory pockets, a“D”-ring, indicia, and padding. The base member may have additionalfeatures which include, among others, reinforcement ribs, wheel wells,three or more point stand, identifying indicia, wheels, curved joints,etc.

With reference to drawing FIG. 1, which shows a back side of a travelbag, one may appreciate a more complete understanding of embodiments ofthe invention. A plastic base member 101 is affixed to a bag member 102.In some embodiments, the main body of the bag is formed from a singlepiece of material which has been wrapped about an axis in asubstantially cylindrical shape. It is noted that the bag may be formedwith multiple pieces of material joined together to form a single pieceof material.

Perpendicular to the axis, the bag member has a top section 103 and abottom section 104. The bag may additionally have a tapered portion 105at the top of the main body. The base 101 forms a partially enclosedcavity. The back portion 106 of the base meets a side portion 107 and abottom portion 108 at curved joints. Rivets 109 may be used to hold thebag and base members together. To improve strength, the base portion mayadditionally include reinforcing ribs 110 while the bag may incorporatereinforcing longitudinal webbing 111 and circumferential webbing 112.

A handle 113 may be formed and affixed by rivets 114 to the top sectionof the bag. Other suitable fasteners may be used in addition to orinstead of rivets. Two strips of longitudinal webbing on the back of thebag may come together to form a loop 115 which may be grabbed togetherwith the handle. Two wheels 116 may be coupled to the bottom of the basemember as shown.

FIG. 2 is shows how the front side of a travel bag of the invention maylook. Two strips of longitudinal webbing 201 may run down the bodyportion from the top section to the bottom section on either side of azipper opening 202. Two handles 203 may be affixed to the webbing asshown. A strip of circumferential webbing may form a complete or closedloop and be fastened at two piece buckle 204. A rectangular accessorypocket 205 may be formed of a single layer of material having a pleated206 arrangement. The pocket may have three of its edges 207 held flushto the surface of the body portion of the bag under longitudinal andcircumferential webbing. Additionally, the pocket may have a zipperedopening 208 which is arranged in close proximity to the longitudinalwebbing for strength. Finally, a “D”-ring 209 accessory may be attachedto the top section of the bag.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of base member 301 indetail before it is attached to a bag. Reinforcement ribs 302 may extendboth longitudinally and laterally to add strength against flexing. Theperiphery of the base member is defined by a lip 303 which is continuousand without corners. The figure illustrates a hidden line 304 (broken)to further detail the peripheral lip. Indicia 305 may be formed insurface relief pattern. A pad element 306 disposed on the bottom of thebase element forms part of a three point stand. A transverse axis 307along the joint between the base back and bottom-provides alignment forwheels which may be coupled and set into wheel wells 308.

The base member may be described further in detail as follows. It may beformed in a molding process with a single flat sheet of high impactresistant plastic for example. The material may be drilled toaccommodate rivets or other types of fasteners. Other suitable means offastening or attaching the travel bag to the base member may be used.The sheet of suitable thickness, for example between approximately ⅛inches and ¼ inches in thickness, can be shaped while heated. Sometimescalled “thermoform”, the shaping process allows a complex shape to berealized from a simple extruded plastic source material. The complexshape easily supports many features important to the function of bags,some of which include: seamless joints; reinforcement ribs; wheel wells;bag standing pad; relief pattern indicia; among others.

Because corners and seams tend to become damaged as a result of stresseswhich may be incident thereon, it is useful to provide a base memberwhich takes a form without seams and corners. Accordingly, the back,bottom and side portions of the base member blend smoothly into oneanother by way of gently curved joints. The plastic material from whichthe base is made is bent to form the joint which may have a minimumradius of about 2 centimeters at any curve. In this way, a nicetransition is formed which allows the base to be free from corners andseams.

Reinforcement ribs can run across both or either the length and width ofthe three portions, the back, bottom and or sides may be integrallyformed into the plastic. A simple ridge rising above the surface of theplastic blank material from which the base is made can form areinforcement rib. Ribs so formed give strength to the base memberagainst bending. For example, the back portion lies substantially in asingle plane. By pulling at two opposing edges while pushing in themiddle, one tends to bend the piece out of its natural plane. However,ribs formed into the section as described tend to resist such bendingand increase the overall strength of the piece.

Reinforcement ribs of the art tend to be separate elements which arescrewed to or otherwise fastened to a planar element. These requireextra labor and materials to fabricate. In addition, they may fail moreeasily than a rib which is an integral part of the device itself whichcannot be separated from the base as it is part thereof.

Thermoform processes are also particularly useful for forming wheelwells into the single piece base member. A ridge which protrudes fromthe surface on either side of a trough form a single wheel well whichsupports an axle positioned transversely with respect to thelongitudinal direction of the rib and trough. Each ridge can be formedof two thicknesses of base material. Two of such wheel wells may beformed about a single transverse axis.

In addition, the ridge of a wheel well may be integrated together with areinforcement rib which runs substantially the length of a base portionsuch as the back. In this way, strong forces incident on the wheels getabsorbed by the rib and distributed over a maximal surface region of thebase.

Another feature of the base member includes one or more standing padelements. In order to provide the bag with means of standing upright, athree or more point stand can be formed by a simple bump pad in thesurface which extends downwardly from the bottom portion. In someembodiments, a single pad is arranged symmetrically between the wheelsbut displaced from their axis cooperates with the wheels as the thirdpoint of a three point stand. The wheels form each of the other twopoints. The wheels being free to roll tend to cause the stand to beunstable and free to move. However, the third point provides highfriction contact with a floor on which it sets thereby preventingadvancement of the bag via the wheels.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of base support 400that includes one or more pads 402 positioned on bottom 404 of basesupport 400. Pads 402 are generally spaced a suitable distance fromwheels 406 to contact the ground and stabilize base support 400 in astanding position. Pads 402 can also be tapered from front to back, asindicated by tapered pads 403 in FIG. 5, so that base support tilts backslightly when placed in a standing position. A tilted orientation canhelp prevent a travel bag attached to base support 400 from tippingover. This is especially true when the travel bag 102 (FIG. 1) isheavily loaded in areas that extend outside of base support 400. Pads403 can be attached to or formed integrally in base support 400.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of base support 600that includes pads 602 attached or formed integral to reinforcement ribs604. Ribs 604 can be integrated in base support 600 to provideadditional strength to the structure of base support 600. In theembodiment shown, wheel wells 606 are integrated in ribs 604, however,ribs 604 can be configured without wheel wells 606.

Finally, another feature that can be included in the thermo-formed basemember is a surface relief pattern. The pattern may support indicia oftext or design which may carry a trademark for identification purposesor possibly aesthetic design.

The bag member may be described in detail as follows. It may be formedby sewing together several sections of flexible cloth material. The bagmember can be comprised of three sections. A top section, a bottomsection and a body section sewn together to form an enclosure. The bodysection can be comprised of a single, continuous piece of materialwithout seams. Two edges form mating edges and are joined together asthe single piece body is rolled about a longitudinal axis to form acylindrical shape. The upper portion of the body may be tapered in someversions. So formed, the top and bottom sections may be positionedorthogonal to the cylindrical axis and sewn to the bottom and top edgesrespectively of the body section thus forming an enclosure.

The bag member includes an opening along its length which may be securedby a zipper or Velcro® type fasteners. As such the edges of the singlepiece may be joined together as mates in accordance with the fastenertype. For this disclosure, the opening is said to be on the “front side”of the bag member.

The bottom of the bag member, at its backside, may be fastened to thebase member. This may be accomplished with rivet and/or other suitablefasteners, which may be additionally supported by adhesives or sewing. Asmall hole may be drilled or punched through the flexible material ofthe bag and through the rigid material of the base at correspondingpositions. A rivet or other suitable fastener can be used to hold thebag firmly to the base.

Travel bags of the invention may be used to carry sporting equipmentsuch as golf gear. Since golf is a highly visible sport coveredextensively by the media, sponsors of the sport enjoy having their namesand trademarks prominently displayed on equipment. Therefore, the sidesof the bag may support the application of indicia such as asilk-screened logo. Alternatively, a logo may be sewn, embroidered, orotherwise affixed to the sides of the bag.

In order that one may be able to move and manipulate the travel bag,specialized handles are arranged. These handles are placed in the frontof the bag and the top section of the bag. The handles may be a simplestrap affixed at two ends to the bag. A plurality of fasteners such asrivets may be used in conjunction with sewing and/or adhesives to form abond.

On the front of the bag, two handles, one on either side of the zipperedopening and parallel thereto, operate together. They are positioned sothat they may easily be grabbed together as one. A single handle, againa strap fastened at two ends, forms a top handle. The top handle isparticularly useful for pulling the bag along on its wheels whereby thebag follows behind a person pulling it.

Travel bags of the art have sometimes provided large boxy pockets sewnto the outside surface of the bag. These are generally used to storebulky items such as shoes.

These pockets tend to become caught upon sharp objects and be tom awayfrom the bag. To remedy this problem, travel bags of the inventionprovide a new pocket design. A pleated arrangement allows pocket edgesto be sewn flush to the outside surface of the bag. The pleats allow thepocket to expand outward while allowing the edges to remain attachedflush the pocket may be simple rectangular with four edges. A zipperopening may be formed near on edge, preferably a longer edge. To createa balanced bag, two pockets may be formed. One each being sewn to thebag symmetrically placed about the bag opening forms a balanced bag.

A special taper and padding arrangement may be configured to restrainobjects in the top of the bag. It is sometimes desirable to preventobjects from freely moving about inside the bag enclosure. The objectsmay tend to bang together and perhaps may be damaged from such banging.Therefore, to provide restraint for items in the top of the bag, the topis formed with a taper. The girth of the bag is wider everywhere incomparison to the top-most portion of the bag. In addition, a padding isaffixed onto the inner surface of the bag. Finally, a strap is employedabout the taper section to cinch down on the objects and padding to formsecure containment whereby objects will not easily move about the topsection of the bag.

Because travel bags may be subject to extreme stress due to overpacking, travel bags of the invention include a specialized system ofwebbing. Webbing is affixed, by sewing or gluing for example, to theexterior surface of the bag member. Webbing is arranged in two generalconfigurations. For strength along the length of the bag, longitudinalstrips may be attached. For strength against radial expansion, orstrength to resist bursting, webbing is provided about an axialconfiguration.

A strap may form a closed loop when two ends are coupled by a bucklehaving mating portions. Such closed loop configuration may additionallybe provided an adjustment means so that the straps may be cinched downafter a bag has been packed thus holding contents securely in place. Inthe longitudinal direction or about the length of the bag, a webbing maybe attached at the top section of the bag running across the body andhaving a second end affixed at the bottom section of the bag. Two stripsplaced on the front side of the bag on either side of a zipper whichotherwise vulnerable to bursting pressure.

Two handles may be formed to cooperate with longitudinal webbing pieceseach attached to either piece of the webbing. When the handles arebrought together and held or joined as one, the bag may be grabbed sothat the weight of its contents act on the webbing but not on thezipper. The handles ends may directly be fastened to the webbing viarugged fasteners such as rivets. Strong forces pulling on the handlesare transmitted along the length of the bag via the webbing.

Two longitudinal strips may additionally be affixed to the surface ofthe back at the backside. These two webbing strips may form a loop atthe top portion. The loop may be held or joined to a handle. The tophandle may be affixed on its two ends to the top section of the bag.When the loop and top handle are grabbed together, strong pulling forcesare transmitted along the webbing and provide relief to the bag whichmay otherwise suffer from vigorous pulling on the handle.

Webbing may be arranged about the circumference of the bag at any or atvarious places. Circumferential webbing forms a closed loopconfiguration which may be opened via a buckle. Buckles attached to thewebbing may be placed at the zippered opening and opened and closed toallow easy access to the enclosed portion of the bag. Circumferentialwebbing is arranged to provide strength against bursting and addssupport to the bag opening. As great stress tends to break zippers onsome bags, the circumferential reinforcement is designed to resistbursting pressure at the zipper. The buckled straps will hold tight theload in the bag and allow the zipper to operate to open and close thebag without being damaged from heavily loaded bags. Additionally, thewebbing which forms a closed loop may be arranged to hold down the edgesof an accessory pocket.

The webbing not only cooperates with the bag member, but it additionallycooperates with the base member. To further transmit pulling forces tothe strongest portion of the travel bag, the webbing strips may beriveted to the base. Webbing is first attached to the bag member andthen the bag and webbing assembly is attached to the base member. A holemay be punched through the center of the webbing, through the bagmaterial, and through the base member. A rivet binds the three togetherto form a very strong joint. A plurality of such rivet joints may beformed at various places where the bag, webbing and base may becollocated.

Webbing may also be arranged to cooperate with the accessory pockets.The edges of the pockets sewn to the surface of the body section of thebag, may be covered and additionally secured by webbing. Particularlyalong the edge of the pocket closest to the bag zipper opening.Additionally, the two edges lateral edges of the pockets may be sewnunder axial webbing straps. With three of four edges sewn under webbing,the pockets may be stuffed quite full and still withstand the load.Additionally, they will be protected at their edges from objects whichtend to tear and damage pockets sewn to the outside of typical travelbags.

The accessory pockets have openings which may be closed with zippers.The zippers may be placed in close proximity to the webbing so that mostof the load is taken by the webbing. A zipper placed from about 0.5inches to 1.5 inches allows full access to the pockets while providingsecurity for the pocket.

Finally the webbing is arranged to cooperate with a ‘D’-ring at the topof the bag. A ‘D’-ring affixed to the webbing provides a strong elementfrom which to hang or clip objects to. A garment bag may lay secure andsubstantially flat onto the front of the travel bag if it is clipped tothe ‘D’-ring.

While the present disclosure describes various embodiments, theseembodiments are to be understood as illustrative and do not limit theclaim scope. Many variations, modifications, additions and improvementsof the described embodiments are possible. For example, those havingordinary skill in the art will readily implement the processes necessaryto provide the structures and methods disclosed herein. Variations andmodifications of the embodiments disclosed herein may also be made whileremaining within the scope of the following claims. In the claims,unless otherwise indicated the article “a” is to refer to “one or morethan one”.

1. A base support to support a bag, comprising: a bottom, a back, and apair of side portions each coupled to the back at curved joints; and aplurality of reinforcement ribs configured along the bottom, back, andside portions to resist bending; wherein the base support is formed froma single piece of material without corners and/or seams.
 2. The basesupport of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of wheel wells coupledto the bottom.
 3. The base support of claim 1 wherein the plurality ofreinforcement ribs are configured along a longitudinal direction and atransverse direction.
 4. The base support of claim 2 wherein theplurality of wheel wells are coupled to the plurality of reinforcementribs.
 5. The base support of claim 1 further comprising a stand padextending downwardly from the bottom to form a three point stand incombination with a pair of wheels coupled to the bottom.
 6. The basesupport of claim 1 further comprising a surface relief pattern coupledto an exterior of the back to support indicia of text or design.
 7. Thebase support of claim 1 wherein at least some of the plurality ofreinforcement ribs are integral to the single piece of material.
 8. Thebase support of claim 1 wherein the base support is fabricated using athermoform molding process.
 9. The base support of claim 1 furthercomprising a plurality of wheel wells integrally formed in the bottom.10. The base support of claim 1 wherein a ridge of a wheel well isformed integrally with at least one of the plurality of reinforcementribs.
 11. The base support of claim 1 further comprising the bagattached to the base support, wherein the bag includes a top portionthat is tapered relative to the rest of the bag.
 12. The base support ofclaim 11 further comprising a padded section in the top portion.
 13. Thebase support of claim 11 further comprising a strap employed about thetop portion so objects in the bag cannot move easily.
 14. The basesupport of claim 1 further comprising the bag attached to the basesupport, webbing affixed to the exterior surface of the bag, andadjustment means coupled to the webbing to allow a user to cinchcontents in the bag.
 15. The base support of claim 1 further comprisingthe bag attached to the base support, webbing affixed to the exteriorsurface of the bag, and a zipper operable to open and close the bag,wherein the webbing is configured to relieve pressure on the zipperduring opening and closing.
 16. The base support of claim 1 furthercomprising the bag attached to the base support, and webbing affixed tothe exterior surface of the bag and to the base support.
 17. The basesupport of claim 1 further comprising the bag attached to the basesupport, and webbing affixed to the exterior surface of the bag, and afastener to couple the bag and the webbing to the base support.
 18. Abase support for a travel bag comprising: a back portion, a bottomportion, and side portions, wherein the back, bottom, and side portionsof the base support blend smoothly into one another and the base supportis configured to accommodate at least a portion of the travel bag. 19.The base support of claim 18 further comprising: reinforcement ribs,wherein the reinforcement ribs are operable to strengthen the basesupport against bending.
 20. The base support of claim 18 furthercomprising: reinforcement ribs integrally formed in the base support.21. The base support of claim 18 further comprising: wheel wellsintegrally formed in the base support, wherein the wheel wells arepositioned between the back and bottom portions.
 22. The base support ofclaim 19 further comprising a wheel well formed integrally with at leastone of the reinforcement ribs.
 23. The base support of claim 18 furthercomprising the bag attached to the base support.
 24. The base support ofclaim 23 further comprising at least one of the group comprising:padding in at least a portion of the bag, a top portion of the bag thatis tapered relative to the rest of the bag, a strap employed about thetop portion so objects in the bag cannot move easily, webbing affixed tothe exterior surface of the bag, adjustment means coupled to the webbingto allow a user to cinch contents in the bag, a zipper operable to openand close the bag wherein the webbing is configured to relieve pressureon the zipper during opening and closing, and a fastener to couple thebag and the webbing to the base support.
 25. The base support of claim18 further comprising: one or more pads positioned on bottom of basesupport, wherein the pads are spaced a suitable distance from wheels inthe base support to contact the ground and stabilize the base support ina standing position.
 26. The base support of claim 25 wherein the padsare tapered so that base support tilts back slightly when placed in astanding position.
 27. The base support of claim 25 wherein the pads arepositioned on reinforcement ribs wherein the reinforcement ribs addstrength to the base support.
 28. The base support of claim 27 wherein awheel well is integrated into one of the reinforcement ribs.
 29. A basesupport for a travel bag comprising: a bottom portion; at least onewheel attached to the base support; at least one pad spaced a suitabledistance from the at least one wheel, wherein the at least one pad istapered from front to back and configured to contact the ground andstabilize the base support to prevent the base support from tippingforward when placed in a standing position.
 30. The base support ofclaim 29 wherein the at least on pad is attached to attached to the basesupport.
 31. The base support of claim 29 wherein the at least on pad isformed integral to the base support.
 32. The base support of claim 29further comprising a reinforcement rib, wherein the at least one pad isconfigured on the reinforcement rib.